Will Thoren: A Man of Many Talents

While on a family trip to Costa Rica, 11-year-old Will Thoren discovered a long, wooden, conical instrument used by the aboriginal people of Northern Australia. His fascination with the didgeridoo, a wind instrument, has not abated since then.

The musician

He comes from an imaginative family. Both parents are movie animators. Thoren is the youngest of three boys. His oldest brother runs a wildlife refuge in the Bolivian rainforest while the middle brother is a wine maker. 

"Believe it or not, you don't need to have a musical background to learn how to play the didge," said Thoren. The 22-year-old speaks from experience, having joined the Agoura High choir only after learning how to play the didge. He learned how to play the mandolin even later, enticed by the possibility of playing both instruments at the same time.

Some people can take years to master the technique involved in playing the world's oldest wind instrument. It took Thoren only a week. He explained how circular breathing works, "It involves inhaling through the nose and squeezing air out of your cheeks to produce a non-stop sound."

In the past 11 years since that life-changing trip, Thoren has immersed himself in the relatively new didge culture. He studied with a tribe elderly in Australia to learn the intricacies of didge-making. Also in Australia, he lived with William Barton, a famous didge player, for three months.

He attended his first U.S. Didgeridoo Festival a few years ago and hobnobbed with legendary didge players and enthusiasts. This year, he performed at the didge fests in New York, Arizona and Oregon.

The craftsman

Thoren gave a tour of his home studio set amidst picturesque Malibu Lake.The studio looks like a typical wood worker's complete with an assortment of saws and an electric sanding machine.

Almost any kind of wood from eucalyptus to oak can be used to make a didge but Thoren says some are better for specific purposes. The eucalyptus, which is harder than most and produces a more direct, shooting sound, is best suited for recording. Softer ones like the willow are good for acoustic meditative playing.

"Don't be alarmed but I always carry a saw in my car," said Thoren. The saw is for fallen trees, which he likes to gather and bring home, preferring not to cut down any trees. Live ones also take a longer time to dry.

For starters, Thoren recommends a more affordable alternative without the use of woodworking tools. On YouTube, his instructional videos have over 1,200 hits  and subscribers from six continents. In the two-part video, Thoren gives instructions on how to fashion a didge using a PVC pipe.

Thoren takes didge orders on his website and can ship all over the world. Most are custom-made and are in the $500 to $2,000 range, taking about 15 to 40 hours to complete. "The tuning makes it expensive," said Thoren. He also builds each piece depending on the intended use.

A collector's item will be built differently from one that will be used for recording or for performing. Multiple wooden extensions can be added to lower the keys. An earlier innovation, the drop octave didge, can reach incredibly low notes. Thoren has also recently perfected the multi-drone didge, which can comfortably hit 10 notes, opening up more possibilities for writing and playing music. It is similar to the pedal tone technique of the tuba, a brass instrument.

The visionary

Away from his music and his craft, Thoren continues to feed his creative side by taking breathtaking photos of his backyard, the Santa Monica Mountains. His photos, mostly printed on canvas, are on exhibit at the Cornell Winery along Mulholland Highway.

A book is also in the works. Thoren envisions one that would encompass the entire didge culture starting from its storied past to its current stature, patiently waiting to be assimilated into mainstream Western music.

The didge is currently not the frontrunner on most bands that incorporate it and Thoren would like to see some changes soon. "I want it to be one of the primary, irreplaceable pieces of a band," he said.

Meantime, Thoren continues to draw inspiration from the dynamic didge movement, at the brink of an explosion. His almost child-like paroxysm of anticipation difficult to conceal, he said, "It's like a lit firecracker, almost ready to blow up."

*"Gorangutan" top-billing Will Thoren on the didgeridoo and the mandolin will be playing at Boulderdash Rock Climbing Center, 880 Hampshire Road, Suite A, in Thousand Oaks this Sunday, October 10. Doors will open at 7:15 pm.